Social cognition in schizophrenia

Abstract

Social cognition is considered as a valuable construct to understand the nature and disability of schizophrenia. Deficits in social cognition have been documented in schizophrenic patients throughout the course of illness, and have been associated to social functioning. Theoretical paradigms exploring social cognition (emotion processing, theory of mind, attributional bias, social perception, social knowledge), its clinical and cognitive correlates, and its neural substrates will be presented. Finally, implications for psychopharmacological and rehabilitation programs will be discussed. © 2007 Giovanni Fioriti Editore s.r.l.